Consumer goods segregator



July 25, 1950 M. 1. BENNETT. 2,516,292

CONSUMER GOODS SEGREGATOR Filed June '7, 1946 $12 0' Ziw 11 20 l I @w 11 21 T I 5891 J INVENTOR BY 6 WW M ATTORNEY Patented July 25, 1950 2,516,292: CONSUMER.GQ.0DS SEGREGATOR Miltomli Bennett} Briarcliff Manor; N1. Y., assign F 1 or to..Bennett-iGill"en Corporation, NewrYork a N .Y'.-,acorporati'imof NewYork APIllicatiorIJ-Tiini, 1946, Serial No. 675,282

nclaim; 1

This invention relates to packaging of consumer goods, and has for its object to provide an improved consumer goods segregator and indicator, which is adaptable to any size of consumer package within the limitations of the segregator, and which at the same time enables the seller and the consumer to see the product, the brand name, weight, and price, or other requirement of the law of merchandising.

The invention consists of a continuous ring of relatively narrow width, part of the circumference of which is non-elastic, and part of which is elastic, the normal circumference being less than the normal state of the initial volume of the package to be identified, and being less than the circumference of the same package when it has shrunk or become less in volumetric contents.

Perishable products like a group of bananas, or a dozen or so spears of asparagus, a bunch of celery, a number of frankfurters or sausages, etc., in their initial state have a larger volumetric contents and hence a larger circumference, than when atmospheric conditions have brought about a shrinkage. It is important to have a portion of the segregator adapt itself to the varying sizes of the articles assembled and to the consequent variations of the individual articles due to atmospheric or like conditions.

The invention will be further described, embodiments will be shown in the drawings, and the invention will be finally set forth in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a group of bananas or a portion of a hand, with the improved segregator applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the segregator;

Fig. 5 is a front view of the same;

Fig. 6 is a rear view of the same;

Fig. '7 is a diagrammatic plan view of the apparatus used to make the improved segregator, and

Fig. 8 is a side view of the same.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the various views.

Referring to the drawings, the improved packaging ring I0 consists of a narrow band I l of nonelastic material having its ends I2 joined by a band l3 of elastic material. The bands II and I3 have the same width, but are preferably of difierent length. The joint circumferential length of these bands, or the circumferences of the ring 10, is slightly smaller than the average circumferential coverage of a consumer group of bananas [4, say a quarter to a half hand. The ring I0 is placed around the group of bananas, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, so that the elastic band is under tension, so that when the bananas shrink, the ring 10 is still under tension, to provide a hold, even on further shrinkage.

The ring I0 is preferably made in the following manner:

A roll 20 of suitable material such as nonstretchable paper, feeds its band or strip upon a table 2|, through guide and feed rollers 22. Formers 23 are disposed laterally of the band, and as the band progresses the sides of the band are bent over from the sides towards the center, but with a spacing between the edges 24 of the bent over sides. Feed and pressing rollers 25 press the bent over sides down and feed the band forward to a device 26 for applying an adhesive to the outer sides of the bent over side portions. After the adhesive has been applied, an elastic band from a roll 21 is fed to the adhesive covered sides and pressed down by the feed and pressure rollers 28. This flattened tube is then fed to the end of the table, where a cutting device 29 cuts oil transversely to the tube, the desired width of the bands. Preferably an electric eye device is used to operate the cutting device, the electric eye being set in operation by the portions of the tube which are free from printed matter, or other indication to operate the electric eye.

In the event it is desired to apply an additional adhesive, as rubber cement, to the edges of the rubber or elastic band l3, then an additional applicator for adhesive may be used.

The application of adhesive may be eliminated if the non-elastic material has a thermo-plastic coating or other type of coating capable of sealing to form a bond between the elastic and nonelastic materials. If a thermo-plastic coating had previously been applied to the non-elastic material, the seal between the two materials may be obtained by heat and pressure. After the transverse cutting of the tube into rings, the rings are all of identical size.

I have described several forms of my invention, 7

but obviously various changes may be made in the details disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as set out in the following claim.

I claim:

A consumer goods segregator for a perishable food product consisting of a bunch of individual objects of the same kind each of irregular natural shape and capable of compacting to a handling unit, and susceptible to natural shrinkage, consisting of a ring of substantial width but of narrow width compared to its circumference, having a non-elastic portion and an elastic portion, with the ends of the elastic portion permanently affixed to tlie"'ends-of the non-elastic portion forming a continuous annulus, of predetermined size, with the non-elastic portion having an indicator of the merchandising characteristics of the product visible to the consumer, said indicator being arranged with its indications readable along the length of the non-elastic portion, the circumference of the annulus being normally less than the circumference of the product enclosed by the annulus in all merchandising conditions of said product, and the length of the elastic portion being such as to be under tension when applied to the contour of the product and for compacting the objects to the handling unit and for holding the product under tension of the elastic portion before and after the natural shrinking of the individual objects of the product.

MILTON I. BENNETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Brandt Jan. 30, 1945 

